


May Angels Bring You Home

by Tatsumaki_sama



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Children, Feels, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-24
Updated: 2014-04-15
Packaged: 2017-12-09 10:18:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/773074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tatsumaki_sama/pseuds/Tatsumaki_sama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six year old Steve just wanted to find his mom and go home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The last thing Steve Rogers remembered was that he was going into the kitchen to get a glass of water for his mother before there was a sudden shaking of the ground and everything went black and when he opened his eyes, he found himself in the rubble of a half-collapsed building.

Scared that his mother was buried somewhere under the ruins, he tried to stand but soon found himself flat on the ground, having tripped over his suddenly big and bizarre clothing. He stared in surprise at the over-sized bright blue, red and white shirt and to his embarrassment, the equally huge and colorful pants slipped right off his bony hips, leaving him only with the large shirt for cover.

But this was no time to be worrying about these strange clothes he was wearing. His mother needed him. And the elderly Mrs Kendricks down the hall and the nice Hartley family too. He even worried about the mean bullies Lester, Ralph and Daniel, despite the fact they called him names and liked to throw mud at him.

He awkwardly maneuvered himself with the weight of his clothes slowing him down through the scattered concrete pieces. He urgently called for his mother and Mrs Kendricks and every member of the Hartley family and even Lester, Ralph and Daniel and anyone else he could remember.

There was a moan and a body shifted. Excited to find another living being, Steve hurried to their side. It was a man, tall and gangly who was dressed also in strange clothing, in a skin tight suit with splashes of black and purple. At his side was a bow and a quiver of arrows (Steve never thought he would meet someone who would use a bow like Robin Hood).

He wasn't someone Steve recognized but this stranger needed help. " Mister, are you all right?" Steve gently shook the man, his long baggy sleeves completely covering his arms and hands.

The man moaned again and as he tried to open his eyes, he let out a spew of rather foul words that Steve knew his mother would have scrubbed his ears raw for even hearing them. He almost wanted to scold the man for using such language but Steve supposed that if he was an adult and a building suddenly fell on him, he would be in a bad mood too.

" Mister? Can you hear me?" he tried again.

" Cap? Is that you?" the man slurred in something that was remotely English, eyes still closed.

Steve looked around. There was no else other than him and this man. " There isn't another person here, mister," he said, worried that the man had hit his head a bit hard.

The man finally opened his eyes. He blinked at Steve for a moment before abruptly sitting up with a curse, startling Steve.

" Cap?" the man said carefully, staring so transfixed at Steve that it unsettled the boy.

" That's not my name," he politely corrected.

" Steve Rogers?" the man tried next.

It made him frown. How did this stranger manage to guess his first and last name perfectly? " That's right," Steve nodded in confirmation. " Do you know me?" he suspiciously asked.

" I guess you can say that," the man shrugged helplessly, looking just as befuddled as Steve about their situation. " Could you give me a minute?"

Then, the man did something strange where he pressed a gloved hand to his ear, where a deceptively small black device was there. Steve had seen nothing like that before. And to his surprise, the man did another weird thing. He spoke into the black device.

" Guys, we got a situation with Cap. You should see it for yourselves."

Now Steve was getting worried. This man was thinking he could talk into devices and that he was this "Cap" person. He definitely hit his head too hard and needed to see a doctor immediately.

But Steve still had to find his mother and the others still buried under the building. He yanked at the man's hand who thankfully was startled enough to stop talking to himself and turned to him. " We need to help the others," Steve pleaded, whose throat was beginning to itch. " My mom. Everyone. They're all still buried."

The man gave him a look akin to confusion and pity. " Steve, they aren't here," he slowly said.

Steve shook his head frantically. " My mom was in her bedroom. She asked me to get her some water. " His voice rose to a high, panicky pitch and he was coughing in-between sentences without realizing it. " I just saw Mr Hartley when – when he went for his m-m-morning stroll. And – and Lester, Ralph and Daniel stole my – my toy car just this morning and I was going to find them later to get it back and I –"

He stopped when he realized he was very out of breath, his throat itchy and there was a tightness in his chest. " Steve, just breath," the man instructed. He silently obeyed, blinking back tears and fighting back the tickling sensation in his throat. " It's not what – I didn't mean that," the man hastily explained, a dull flush rising under his skin. " I was only saying your mom and everyone else aren't here right now. They're ... somewhere else."

Before Steve could ask where his mom was, the appearance of a red-haired lady made him stammer and lose whatever he was going to say. He had never seen such a pretty dame before, even though he proudly declared his mother was the prettiest girl in the whole world. She, like the strange man, was also wearing skin tight black clothing, except her clothing seemed impossibly tighter and he blushed at how curvy she was.

Her eyes flicked from the man to Steve before they settled back on the man. Something passed between them that Steve didn't know. An adult matter, he supposed.

The lady then knelt next to him and made him turn redder. " Hello Steve," she said in her pretty voice.

He almost wanted to ask how she knew his name too but his stuttering made him settle for a simple "ma'am" instead.

" How old are you, Steve?"

" I'm six and a half, ma'am," he answered, staring hard at the dusty floor while trying not to cough. It wasn't nice to cough on someone who was talking to him.

" My name is Natasha and this is Clint." She indicated to the man who gave an awkward sort of wave. " We're friends and we are going to help you."

Steve looked up at her. " You're going to help me find my mom?" he asked, hope rising.

" We'll do what we can," she replied carefully.

He smiled at her. " Thank you, Miss Natasha. It's awfully kind of you." He looked shyly at Mr Clint, embarrassed of thinking poorly of him before. " Thank you too, Mr Clint," he added as a polite young gentleman would have.

There was an expression that raced across her lovely face, too quick for Steve to decipher. But she was smiling at him and so was Mr Clint and Steve was just glad he met such nice people.

Then, there was a roaring sound and the ground trembled and Steve nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw a gold and red creature encased in metal and a towering green beast approaching them. He let out a choked gasp and he could feel the color leave his face.

Miss Natasha quickly said something, almost angrily, to no one. And the two monstrous beings hesitated, staying where they were but they kept looking straight at Steve and it terrified him. He took a step back and tripped backwards over his baggy clothing. A cloud of dust and sand rose, finding its way into his throat and he started to violently cough.

Mr Clint tried to reassure him but Steve simply couldn't stop coughing. His scraped throat was closing up and he couldn't breathe anymore. His heart drumming painfully against his chest, he couldn't stop staring in fear at the gold and red moving machine and the monstrous green creature as the world around him started haphazardly spinning and his frail body was trembling uncontrollably so much that it hurt.

The next thing he knew, he was being scooped up by the metal monster and there were voices drowning in his ears.

" – crap, he's having an panic attack – "

" – asthma symptoms too – "

" – hospital. Now!"

He tried to yell, that he didn't want to go with the metal creature who could do experiments to him to change him into a monster like it and he was afraid that big green monster would eat him in one gulp but there was no breath left in his lungs to even wheeze. He struggled to escape from the metal monster's grip but it was holding on him too tight and they were already up in the air, flying past the clouds and the speeding motion made him even more sick and dizzy.

The blissful darkness finally claimed him and Steve no longer worried what the metal monster or the green monster was going to do him.


	2. Chapter 2

When Steve woke up, he was staring up at a blank white ceiling. He glanced around, noting pale yellow drapes, a pole holding up a bag of clear liquid and strange monitors at his bedside. A hospital, he mused.

It was when he tried to swallow that a shot of pain shook through his tiny body, making him cry out. Only that no sound came out.

That was when Steve realized there was a tube shoved down his throat.

He tried to suck in a breath but there was an invisible force preventing him and he became more panicked. Why did the doctors put this in him? Why was his chest moving on its own? Fear and terror threatening to swallow him whole, Steve tried to raise his hand to pull the tube out but a nurse in her pristine white uniform appeared out of nowhere and stopped him.

" This has to stay in, sweetie," she said kindly, guiding his hand away. " I know it hurts but – "

But the pain in his throat and the building panic rising in his chest made Steve barely aware of anything else. He gave a particular vicious yank to throw off her hand and there was a sharp twisting pain from his wrist and he cried out but again, couldn't make a sound. Something cold and wet splattered over his arm and he could feel his own blood seeping into the blankets. There were several alarms ringing all around and it hurt Steve's head even more.

The nurse was yelling too many things and more people were coming in, pushing him down, saying things that didn't make sense that only confused the boy more.

Tears of fear and pain stung his cheeks. He wanted his mom. He wanted to go home. He wanted the pain to go away. He wanted it all to stop.

Then, there was someone speaking to him, whispering words for his ears alone and Steve actually stopped and listened.

" Shh, Steve. It's all right," a man soothingly told him. Steve tried to figure out who it was but all he knew that it wasn't Mr Clint from before. He squinted and a man who must have come in with the rest of the doctors was at his side. The man's hair was rumpled and his shirt clumsily buttoned and his face appeared worn and tired but his voice was exceedingly calm and gentle when he spoke to Steve. " Just breathe. I know the tube hurts but it will help you breathe. Can you relax and count to ten?"

He did. The tube continued to itch and jar against his throat but eventually, the weight over his chest lessened and he got used to the machine's steady rhythm of breathing for him.

" Good job Steve," the man smiled. " Now the doctor is going to put a small tube in your arm that's going to help you feel better. There will be a little sting. If you want, you could hold my hand."

Steve immediately reached out to his offered hand and the man gave him a comforting squeeze. He was surprised to find that this pale thin man's hand was firm and strong.

There was a prick against his skin and Steve closed his eyes and held onto the man's hand very tightly. He instinctively swallowed, flinching at the tube shifting at the movement. The man used his free hand to gently stroke his hair. " You're doing great, Steve," he said reassuringly. " Just a little longer and you will feel better. Keep squeezing my hand."

He kept his eyes closed, intertwining his small fingers against the man's warm ones. Slowly, he could feel the rest of the nurses and doctors remove their relentless grip on him and stepped back, leaving only him and the man. Minutes passed and before Steve knew it, it didn't hurt to breath anymore and he was growing sleepy.

" Mr. Banner, thank you for your assistance," he dimly heard the doctor speaking to the man, sounding greatly relieved.

" Happy to help," the now named Mr Banner quietly replied, still brushing Steve's hair back in unhurried, even strokes.

" I have a few questions, if you don't mind. How did the boy come to this condition?"

" The Avengers had been in a fight with the invading aliens, as you must have heard by now. When it was over, they found the boy in a collapsed building. I happened to be nearby and I noticed he was having a panic attack. Fortunately, he didn't sustain any other injuries. Ironman quickly brought him over to the nearest hospital."

" Was the boy alone?"

" Yes."

" It was rather kind of you to check up on him." The doctor sounded thoughtful, almost suspicious even.

" I felt it was my responsibility to make sure he was all right," Mr Banner smoothly said.

" Is there anyone we could –?"

Steve wasn't able to hear the rest of the conversation as he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and the soothing motions of Mr Banner brushing back his hair lulled to a peaceful sleep.

~.~.~

" – weird alien technology must have did him in – "

" – took the hit. Clint says – "

There were two men talking when Steve woke up, so warm and comfortable that he almost didn't want to wake up. But he recognized one of the voices. It was Mr Banner, ever so calm and steady. The need to thank Mr Banner for being there for him helped to slowly bring him to a more awakened state.

" – doesn't remember a thing?"

" Clint and Natasha confirmed it. He has reverted back to when he was a child."

" Kinda makes you wish Thor didn't destroy the mothership so soon," the stranger joked, his voice crisp and with a flair of amusement and humor. Steve opened his eyes to see that the stranger was dressed rather oddly with a long-sleeved shirt with a rather bizarre design of skulls and a guitar blazing under a crimson flame. He stood out brazenly against Mr Banner who was wearing a plain blue shirt.

" People were evaporating into dust," Mr Banner answered gravely, almost too quietly.

" So why didn't Cap? He caught a full blast of the Death Star and turned into this. Which is marginally better than the latter but not by much, mind you."

" We need to do tests. Check his blood and cellular structure. All his chemistry and biology is out of wack and we need to figure out how to get it back to normal."

" No need to rush. A couple good pictures of Cap now would pay off the national debt," the man quipped. " Pepper would have kittens if she – "

He abruptly stopped when he realized Steve was awake and staring at them. Steve blushed when he realized it was rude to listen in on conversations like that.

" Didn't your mummy teach you it's not nice to eavesdrop when adults are talking?" the man lightly scolded, though he sounded more amused than annoyed.

He wanted to say that he didn't mean to eavesdrop and that he apologized for doing something his mom had told him not to but Mr Banner was up and by his side in an instant. " It's good to see you awake," he smiled benignly. " How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"

Steve quietly assessed himself. The tube, while still uncomfortable, didn't feel like it was forced into his throat. His breathing was much more relaxed and less erratic. He certainly felt a lot better now that there were no metal or green monsters threatening to eat him.

He tried to reply but the tube in his throat prevented him. The reminder that he wasn't able to speak made Mr Banner quickly touched his wrist in comfort. " Here Steve. This will help you talk to us."

Mr Banner then pulled out a strange white board and a rather thick pen. Steve's eyes became round like coins when Mr Banner uncapped the pen and a bright green ink flowed out from the tip.

 _Hello_ , Mr Banner wrote before handing the pen to him. Steve examined the pen with his free hand, not used to its smooth and angular shape. He liked his thin pencils at home better. " Write something," Mr Banner encouraged.

Almost hesitantly, Steve awkwardly wrote, _my name is Steve_. He could have laughed at how loopy and slanted his script was when he was writing while lying down.

" Good to know that," the other man said, both sarcastically and cheerily.

_What is your name?_

" I'm sorry for not introducing ourselves earlier. My name is Bruce Banner. And this is Tony Stark," Mr Banner – now Mr Bruce said.

 _Hi Mr Bruce. Hi Mr Stark_ , Steve wrote.

" None of that 'Mr Stark' stuff. I go by Tony," said person cut in.

 _Hi Mr Tony_ , he amended.

" Not much of an improvement but I'll take it," Mr Tony grinned.

Steve barely had enough time to smile back (or at least, attempt to smile back with the tube in his mouth) when the door opened and a nurse in a strange long white lab coat like the one doctors wore came in. " Ahh, you're awake," she greeted Steve with a warm smile. She walked over and checked his charts and the machines. She seemed satisfied when she turned to Steve. " You're doing very well," she reported. " We should be able to take out the tube soon if your recovery keeps up like this."

Despite still confused why this nurse was doing things that a doctor would be doing, Steve wrote a polite _thank you, ma'am_ on the board.

The nurse then looked over at Mr Tony and frowned. " Mr Stark, I thought I warned you about visiting patients who don't concern you," she said in a slightly cold voice.

" And since when did you order me around, _Lulu_?" Mr Tony asked in a knowing tone.

The resulting flush that colored the nurse's cheeks made Steve confused. What was so embarrassing about being called "Lulu" anyways? Mr Bruce however looked warily between the two. " Perhaps we should take this discussion outside," he pointedly suggested.

" Yes. And Mr Stark can leave as well," the nurse added, though her face remained red.

" Me?" Mr Tony sounded scandalized. " Can't I stroll into this hospital that ninety-five percent of its medicine and equipment are provided by Stark Industries and I, as the primary stockholder of Stark Industries, cannot even walk into the very building that I – or my assistant – had signed to supply this gorgeous building with all its lovely furnishings and those whats-his-name famous paintings thanks to my charitable donations over the past – "

" I get your point, Mr Stark," she interrupted tersely. " Either way, the owner of Stark Industries cannot just stroll in to visit patients without permission."

" We found him after the latest Independence Day rip off, which I'm _certain_ you have heard about. It makes me practically his guardian," he replied frivolously.

" I don't remember the Avengers taking interest in every minor they came across," the nurse retorted coolly.

" And I don't remember you having a rod stuck up your – "

Mr Bruce loudly cleared his throat. He gave a sideways look towards Steve and strangely enough, it made the nurse lady and Mr Tony stop arguing. The nurse lady then uncomfortably coughed. " Since you claim to have Steve's best interests, then I suppose you have contacted his _real_ guardians?"

" A whole lot of good that will do," Mr Tony snorted. " Both his parents are d– oomph, not around right now," he finished lamely. He sounded like someone had stepped on his foot. Only the strange nurse wasn't anywhere near Mr Tony and Mr Bruce was too nice of a person to step on other people's feet.

" His parents weren't available," Mr Bruce smoothly took over, giving Mr Tony a meaningful glance. " None of his relatives, either," he included before the nurse could ask.

" Which, as I said before, makes us his guardians," Mr Tony piped up smugly.

" You can't just declare yourself to be Steve's guardian without consulting a court for an appointment to see if you have the appropriate qualifications," the nurse objected, using words Steve didn't understand.

" Why don't we ask the man himself?" Mr Tony interrupted, suddenly rounding on Steve who was slightly startled that he was going to be included in the discussion. " What the lady is saying she doesn't think you want to stay with us. In other words, we want you to live in my house. We'll have sleepovers and do a Harry Potter marathon. It'll be fun."

" Only if you want to," Mr Bruce added. " Do you want to stay with us?"

Steve had no idea what a Harry Potter was but he still hesitated at the sound of living in Mr Tony's house. His mom had told him to always be careful around strangers, no matter how nice they might seem.

" There are many dangerous people out there Steve," she had told him gently but firmly. " They will try to hurt you or try to take advantage of you."

But Mr Bruce had been there to comfort him when he was scared and in pain. Mr Clint and Miss Natasha had promised to find his mom. And Mr Tony was funny and likeable enough, though he was a bit strange and eccentric. There was something about the four of them that made Steve instinctively trust them with his life even if they had only entered into his life for a very short time.

Finally Steve picked up the pen and wrote one word.

_Yes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone I know had once recounted how they had been in an accident and woke up in the hospital with mechanical ventilation to help them breath. They said they felt confused and panicky because they had no idea what was going on and why there was something in their throat. If it was a child waking up to those conditions, one could only imagine how they would react.


	3. Chapter 3

The next week was a bit of a fury of activity for Steve.

The doctor came in everyday to check up on him and much to his relief, the tube was able to come out after the doctor deemed his condition to be well enough. It was most relieving to be able to speak properly and not rely on thick pens and boards to communicate his thoughts.

" You've improved a lot," the doctor had told him with a smile and Steve replied with one of his own.

Mr Bruce came in almost every day and he would stay until it was dark. He brought in books for Steve and he would read them out loud and Steve would sit rapt listening to him. Books were sometimes a novelty and the ones his mom was able to get were often already worn and old. Whenever Mr Bruce read to him, be it day or evening, Steve would eagerly gobble up the words and imagery of the stories and beg for more.

He wasn't able to see Mr Tony as much because as Mr Bruce and the nurse explained, he had to go to court to be Steve's legal guardian. The process sounded very confusing and in the end, all Steve understood from it was that Mr Tony needed to talk to some people who would let Steve live with Mr Tony.

And despite all these proceedings with Mr Tony and the court, a nice man who introduced himself as a social worker came in to see Steve. " Do you know where your dad is right now?" the man asked in a professional yet kind voice.

" My mom says he fought in a war and didn't come back," Steve quietly said. His mom always got sad whenever someone mentioned his dad, even though Steve craved to learn more about the father that he never met. There were some pictures of his father in uniform and Steve hoped to one day become a fine gallant soldier like him.

" What about your mom?"

That one was easy to answer. " She was in her room when she asked me to get water for her. But when I went into the kitchen, there was a lot of shaking and things went black. After that, I couldn't find her."

At the very mention of his missing mom, Steve's bottom lip trembled. He knew that Mr Clint and Miss Natasha, who had came in to visit him a few times, were looking for his mom. So he had nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, the man gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

" Everything will be all right, Steve," he said, mirroring what Mr Clint and Miss Natasha had told him many times whenever they visited.

Then the man asked several questions about Mr Tony and Mr Bruce, how Steve met them, whether Steve liked them, if Steve wanted to go home with them.

To which, Steve replied he met them in the hospital, he liked them very much and he most definitely wanted to go home with them.

With another cheery smile, the man finished writing on his board and left Steve in peace.

So when Mr Bruce finally told him that he had made a full recovery and tomorrow the doctor was discharging him and he could bring him to Mr Tony's house, Steve was simply ecstatic.

" What does Mr Tony's house look like? Will there be books?" Steve asked breathlessly, as soon as Mr Bruce sat down. " Mr Tony told me there's a swimming pool and we could do movie marathons of this Harry Potter person. And I can finally eat those Mack Donnie's sandwiches that Mr Tony keeps talking about–"

" Easy, Steve. You will get a chance to do those things," Mr Bruce smiled. And there was something else about his smile, something almost sad and happy at the same time, but Steve was too excited to notice.

Then Mr Bruce leaned forward, looking rather serious that made Steve blink and gaze at him curiously. " Now Steve, I want to you listen to me," he said carefully. " When we go outside, there will be things that appear ... different. Some things may appear strange and scary to you but I want you to understand that nothing will hurt you. We will make sure of that."

Different? Strange? Scary? Those words made Steve's eyes widen. What was so scary about going outside? He went outside his apartment several times on his good days and when his mother wasn't as sick. But if Mr Bruce thought he might be frightened, it must be scary. " What sort of things?" he cautiously asked.

Mr Bruce thought about it for a minute. " There will be cars, buildings and people that seem ... different than what you are used to," he slowly explained. " People may say things that will confuse you. Sounds and lights that are unfamiliar to you. But the most important thing is that – "

" That me and the big guy here will take you to my place," Mr Tony idly interrupted as he strolled leisurely into Steve's room.

Mr Bruce shot Mr Tony a warning look but Mr Tony ignored it. He turned towards Steve with his usual cheer. " Ready for the forty eight hour marathon of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings?" he asked, looking just as excited as Steve. And Mr Bruce wasn't able to get another word in because Steve, aided helpfully by Mr Tony, couldn't stop talking about wizards and magic and tiny people to take in anything else.

~.~.~

Steve hardly slept that night, too excited to even close his eyes.

The doctor came in one final time to do a check-up on him, making sure he was able to breathe good on his own and he had recovered fully. " You're fit to go," the doctor smiled kindly at him. " Just make sure that you take your medicine, which I will give to your guardians, and to rest."

" Yes, sir, I will," Steve obediently said.

Waiting for Mr Tony and Mr Bruce felt like ages. He sat patiently as a six year old could on his bed, wearing the clothes that Mr Bruce had brought him, a white T-shirt and a pair of pants that fit snugly around his thin hips. The clothes were clean and new, newer than anything Steve had ever touched in his life.

Once in a while, one or two nurses would come and check on up him, ask him what he was doing and chatted with him sometimes. They would always coo and fuss over him whenever he politely thanked them for their concern and for taking such good care of him.

At last, Mr Bruce and Mr Tony arrived. Mr Tony strolled into the room as if he owned it with his ever cocky smile. " Your coach awaits," he said, doing a silly exaggerated wave in the air that made Steve giggle.

The more sensible Mr Bruce asked him how he was feeling and if he got his things ready. Truth to be told, Steve didn't have _anything_ when he came to his hospital. All he had was that strange blue, red and white heavy clothing he was curiously wearing when Mr Clint had found him. He never did find out what happened to it. Nevertheless, he nodded and he had a backpack carrying the books that Mr Bruce had given to him.

" All set?" Mr Bruce asked him and Steve eagerly nodded, reaching out and holding Mr Bruce's hand. And not wanting Mr Tony to feel left out, Steve grabbed Mr Tony's hand too.

Looking slightly surprised, Mr Tony's mouth quirked in amusement. " Careful now, Steve. People are going to think we're adopting," he quipped, noticing the quizzical stares of passing patients and visitors.

" Adopting?" Steve asked, puzzled why it would be a problem.

" Oh look, here's the elevator," he cheerily said, not hearing Steve's question.

But being in the elevator only increased Steve's confusion because more people were gawking and pointing at him, Mr Bruce and Mr Tony, but especially Mr Tony. A few of them even took out a strange device and aimed it at them, which made Steve even more nervous.

Mr Tony was smiling at the gawkers and encouraged them, posing extravagantly, effectively blocking Steve and Mr Bruce from view. Something that Steve was grateful for.

" Here we are," Mr Bruce briskly said as the elevator dinged and they stepped out onto the main floor and allowed Steve to breathe without those people watching them like beady hawks.

" Why were those people looking at us like that?" he whispered, tugging at Mr Tony's hand.

" It's time to know the truth, Steve," Mr Tony sighed dramatically. " I'm Brad Pitt handsome and people love to ogle over this." He indicated his entire body with pride.

Steve assumed "Brad Pitt" was some sort of adult adjective and he didn't inquire any further when Mr Bruce opened the hospital's front door and his heart began to pound in nervousness as he remembered Mr Bruce's earlier words about how the outside world might seem strange to him.

To his shock, Mr Bruce was right. Things were beyond what Steve could have comprehended. But there was an unmistakable unearthly beauty in the sight he was beholding now.

Buildings stretched impossibly towards the skies and shades of different hues gleamed and winked from above, reflecting the whiteness of the clouds. The roaring and shrieking of cars startled Steve and flashes of silver, green and orange zipped past his eyes. The intensity of the colors all around him, from the street signs to the strange clothing people wore to the cars, blinded him. Exotic scents overwhelmed his nose, making him feel slightly ill and the sights of hundreds of different colored people wearing unusual and foreign clothing crowding around him made him feel tiny and insignificant.

He couldn't stop gazing in wonder at the people and buildings and lights that glowed from every inch of the sky. It seemed almost too surreal that this city was where he had been living for all his life. " This – this is Brooklyn, right?" he uncertainly asked Mr Bruce, holding onto his hand even tighter, afraid that the crowds of people would swallow him and steal him away from Mr Bruce and Mr Tony.

Mr Bruce hesitated before nodding. " This is New York," he confirmed.

" Wow," Steve breathed, still drinking in the sights before him. " I've never been out of my neighborhood before. Kinda wished I left sooner."

Something had passed through Mr Bruce's face but it was gone before Steve could identify it. " There's our ride," Mr Tony piped up, directing him a long black car that was parked in front of the hospital.

" That's our ride?" Steve repeated, staring uneasily at the car. It looked alien enough that he didn't want to get in.

" Mush mush. We don't have all day." Mr Tony impatiently led him around a chubby, short man in a suit who gave him a kind smile before ushering him inside the car.

Everything inside was sleek and shiny. The smell of the car was bizarre and it made Steve wrinkle his nose uncomfortably. He scooted over to the window, making room for Mr Bruce and Mr Tony climbed into the seat across from him.

" Happy, step on it," Mr Tony called and the driver responded by driving the car into the busy, packed roads.

Steve couldn't stop himself from pressing his nose up against the window like a dog, watching eagerly as people and places zoomed by. " Enjoying the view?" Mr Bruce asked.

" I never knew downtown looked like this," he said almost breathlessly, finally tearing his eyes away from the window. " My mom told me about what it was like but even I couldn't dream how – how advanced everything looks."

" It sure is," Mr Tony grinned knowingly.

They rode for a few minutes in silence, with Steve enthusiastically pointing at some sight that amazed him and babbling at them, much to Mr Bruce and Mr Tony's amusement. Then, there was something that caught Steve's eye.

" What happened there?" he frowned as his head turned at the sight of crumbled and destroyed buildings and stores. Some streets had deep gorges as if some monster had raked its long claws across the surface. Rock and concrete were splattered everywhere. Several areas appeared black and charred, as if burned by a fire.

" Nothing your friendly neighborhood Avengers couldn't handle," Mr Tony carelessly said just as Mr Bruce hurriedly said " Nothing the police couldn't handle".

This piqued Steve's curiosity. " Who are the Avengers?" he asked.

" A bunch of misfits saving the world one step at a time," Mr Tony smiled cheerfully while Mr Bruce rolled his eyes.

" They are a group of superheroes – people who help others," Mr Bruce added after seeing Steve's puzzled look at the word 'superheroes'.

" Like Robin Hood?" Steve asked. " Or – or Zorro?" he made a wild guess. His mom had told him stories of seeing a moving film of a masked man called Zorro who protect the citizens from corrupt and bad people.

Mr Tony loudly snorted and muttered something about "more old-fashioned than his usual self". Steve could have sworn he saw Mr Bruce elbow Mr Tony to silence him but Mr Bruce was already answering him and Mr Tony only had a slightly pinched look on his face. " Yes. Just like Robin Hood and Zorro, the Avengers would protect the people whenever danger was there."

An unbidden memory of a frightening green ogre and a cold metal creature entered Steve's mind and he unconsciously shuddered. " Would the Avengers protect me too?" he quietly asked.

" Of course, they would," Mr Bruce said, frowning. " Why wouldn't they?"

" I don't know if the Avengers could protect me from the big green monster and the metal thing I saw the other day," he mumbled into his shoes.

There was a pause and Steve was too embarrassed to look up at Mr Bruce or Mr Tony. They would probably laugh at him and say he was being silly. But when Mr Bruce spoke, his voice was anything but teasing.

" I'm – I'm sorry," he said quietly, looking horribly guilty and ashamed for reasons that Steve didn't understand. Mr Tony was quick enough to intervene, though not the way Steve would have expected.

" Metal? _Metal_? It's made of a gold-titanium alloy, not some cheap compound!" he scowled indignantly and like Mr Bruce, Steve didn't know why he sounded like Steve had greatly insulted him. " Even iron is better than metal. Something the media got right for once in their – ahem, about those two," Mr Tony cleared his throat when Mr Bruce visibly elbowed him at the side. " So why are you scared of them, Steve? Is it the _iron_ man's good looks?"

Steve fiddled aimlessly with his shirt. " The green one looked like it wanted to eat me. And Lester, Ralph and Daniel told me before that the metal – I mean iron monster," he corrected at Mr Tony's pointed glare. " That it would do all sorts of experiments on me."

Again, there was another pause and Steve stared uncomfortably at the ground. " Ironman and the Hulk wouldn't do that," Mr Tony finally said.

 _Those monsters had names?_ Steve thought bewilderedly. " Sure, the big green guy has a nasty temper tantrum when he's on a roll," Mr Tony continued casually. " And he certainly looks like he could eat you or me in one gulp. But he wouldn't really do that," he hastily said at the horrified expression Steve was giving him at his descriptions.

" And Ironman brought you safely to the hospital, didn't he?" Mr Bruce added quietly.

It was true that the iron creature brought him in one piece to the hospital without doing any mad experiments on him. And like Mr Tony had said, the green monster didn't try to eat him, even though it looked like it wanted to. But Steve remained doubtful.

" The Hulk won't hurt you," Mr Bruce reassured him. There was a determined, set look at his mouth. " I'll make sure of that."

" And you trust us, don't you?" Mr Tony added, almost slyly.

" I do, but –"

" Then it's settled! Leave the Ironman and Hulk to us. We'll keep them in check." Mr Tony was wildly grinning like he had said some funny joke. " If not, we'll set Natasha on them. Nothing scarier than that woman with a pair of kitchen knives."

Even Steve had to smile at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think that for a child coming from the 1920s appearing in the 2012s and seeing all the lovely new technology and things in the future, it would appear more like a magical or cool world, instead of adult Steve realizing he was in a strange world not like his own and getting serious culture shock from it. Not to mention Child!Steve right now doesn't even realize he's in the future.


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the journey to Mr Tony's home was mainly uneventful for Steve, though he did enjoy the banter between Mr Tony and Mr Bruce. They interacted like a pair of old friends who knew each other for a long time, throwing the occasional light teasing and mocking opposition.

At the same time, they were trying to involve him into their conversations, for his thoughts and opinions which Steve would shyly give. Yet, there always seemed to be something that prevented the two men from saying more or that they knew him so well that Steve didn't even need to finish his sentences for them to understand him.

He was trying to figure out how Mr Bruce knew about his passion for baseball and his favourite team when Mr Tony made a sound of impatient relief as they came up over a hill. " Took long enough," he yawned. " And I thought we would never see my tower."

And right on cue, a glossy black tower suddenly made itself known and rose above the rest of the buildings as their car came to the curve of the hill. A sharply dazzling letter " _A"_ right at the top of the tower contrasted the darkly tinted windows. While Steve thought the tower itself was plain (and he loathed to admit to Mr Tony that his home looked rather dreadful in Steve's eyes), the height and grandeur of the tower was rather impressive, making Steve's jaw drop in awe.

" You live in a tower?" he weakly said.

" Isn't it wonderful?" Mr Tony cheekily said. " Sixty-nine floors that you could do anything and everything and you won't get calls from the cops."

" Why will you get calls from the cops?" Steve asked, just as Mr Bruce discreetly coughed.

" We're almost there," he said, as Mr Happy brought the car closer and closer to the immense structure that Mr Tony called home.

And upon reaching and coming to a halt at the entrance of the Stark Tower, as Mr Tony had christened it, Steve's eyes widened as he realized just how small he was compared to this colossal building. " How about we get you inside and you could see your new room?" Mr Bruce suggested, which Steve was thankful for. Anything to get his mind off this tower and his new home. " You can leave your backpack here with Happy. He'll bring it up shortly."

Mr Happy gave him a friendly nod as he took Steve's backpack and even as Steve was led to the doors of the tower, he hoped Mr Happy would take good care of Mr Bruce's books.

The entrance inside was nothing but glamorous. There was a sharply dressed man waiting behind a counter who greeted Mr Tony and Mr Bruce as they approached him and exchanged a few words with him, while throwing a curious glance towards Steve. The floor was so clean that Steve could see his own reflection twinkling blithely back at him. Lights glowed from all directions and expensive-looking vases and colorful paintings embellished every square inch of the walls and every corner of the room. He had never seen such a fancy place in his life and he was made painfully aware of his hand-me-down clothes and shoes that were like repulsive stains against this ocean of perfection.

Mr Tony unfortunately mistook his expression of mortification for awe. " If you think this is great, wait until you go upstairs," he beamed.

Suddenly Mr Tony's home didn't seem as great. If upstairs was even worse than this appalling lobby, Steve wasn't so sure if he wanted to live in this tower anymore.

" Good morning, sir. Welcome back." A crisp, serene voice abruptly filled the lobby.

Steve whipped his head around but no one was there except him, Mr Tony and Mr Bruce. " There's no one here," he slowly said, stilling looking around, half-expecting an elderly butler to appear.

Mr Tony wagged a finger aimlessly in the air, as if scolding someone. " JARVIS. Don't be rude. Say hi to our guest here."

" Hello, Mister Rogers. It is a pleasure to speak with you," a robotic voice amiably said from nowhere and it made the boy jump.

It was then that Steve realized that the voice came from inside the tower itself. " The tower can _talk_?" Steve whispered to Mr Bruce.

" Indeed I can, sir," JARVIS plainly answered before Mr Bruce could, nearly making Steve jump out of his skin again. " You can locate me on any of these floors if you desire any assistance from me."

An ominous voice that could speak from anywhere at any time? Steve inwardly shuddered as he imagined hundreds of metallic eyes focusing and aiming in his direction, following his every movement and taking note of everything he said. It was just too _weird_.

But Mr Tony was rambling off as he brought Steve to the elevator and Steve forced a polite smile.

His smile quickly came to an end as the elevator, very different compared to the rougher elevators of the hospital (like the ones Steve was used to in his run-down apartment), suddenly and effortlessly shot upwards like an airplane. He would have lurched backward if he didn't grab Mr Bruce's leg in time.

" Are you all right?" he asked in concern. Steve could only mutely shake his head. He felt sick and was afraid if he opened his mouth, he might throw up.

Mr Bruce said something to Mr Tony and the next thing Steve knew he was being gently ushered out of that god forsaken elevator and into a floor. He felt Mr Bruce's arm around his shoulders, supporting his shaking legs. " I'm sorry about that," Mr Bruce apologized, rubbing gentle circles around his back.

" JARVIS, slow down the elevators next time," Mr Tony was saying to the tower.

" I will remember to do that, sir," came the serene, invisible response.

The thought didn't help Steve a lot. When his head cleared enough, he slowly raised his head.

As he had suspected, this floor they were on was much worse than the entrance. The size of it appeared bigger and grander than Steve's entire neighbourhood. His reflection on the white marble floor gazed mockingly back at him. To Steve's right, there was a kitchen that his mother could have only dreamed of having. Brightly colorful cabinets, dozens of machines with several knobs and releasing bizarre sounds and a charcoal black table, longer than Steve's room and completed with strangely tall spidery chairs, all waved merrily at Steve, as if showing off and unintentionally making the boy feel sick at heart.

A strangely sleek projector, as wide as a car, was posted on the wall, right across a huge maroon couch. And to Steve's shock, there were vibrant moving pictures flashing across the pristine screen, alien sounds and color emitting from it. There was a fast-paced image of a half-naked man screaming and strutting with an oddly shaped instrument that was half his size, surrounded by equally half-naked girls while flames, skulls and guns blazed behind them. Even as Mr Tony promptly told JARVIS to shut off the projector, Steve felt queasy at such a sight.

There was simply too much of everything. Too much color. Too much space. Too much lights. Too much noise. Too many strange things here in this floor that made Steve's head spin and hurt. Feeling overwhelmed, he gripped Mr Bruce's leg tightly and buried his face into the soft cloth as if by doing so could stop all the strangeness that was assaulting him.

" Steve?" Mr Bruce worriedly asked. " What's wrong? Are you still sick?"

He swallowed thickly. " Yes," he whispered into the fabric of Mr Bruce's pants.

Warm arms gently lifted Steve up and as soon as he could, he pressed his face underneath the cup of Mr Bruce's neck, trying to erase the assailing images of a world that he did not belong in.

Mr Bruce brought him to sit on the couch and Steve almost shied away from the extreme softness of the couch that nearly made him sink in. " It's all right," Mr Bruce soothingly said, continuing to rub Steve's back. " Just breathe."

They remained like that for a few minutes. Steve was just wondering where Mr Tony had disappeared off to when he came back from whoever he was talking to on the phone and was holding a glass of warm milk. " Just what the doctor ordered."

Slowly untangling his arms around Mr Bruce's neck, Steve quietly accepted the milk and hesitantly sipped it. It wasn't like the milk he was used to drinking but it was sweet and delicious enough to calm Steve's nerves.

" Feeling better now?"

" A little," he admitted.

" Next time we will take the stairs," Mr Bruce assured with a small smile.

Though he wanted to say that it was this whole tower that was making him feel ill, Steve couldn't bring himself to tell Mr Tony and Mr Bruce after they had taken such good care of him. Instead, he continued to wordlessly drink his milk.

Then there was a soft ding from the elevators and emerging from it was a beautiful red-haired lady. Steve felt the tips of his ears heat up. He felt almost bad for saying that she was just as beautiful as Miss Natasha when compared to his mom, with her hair tied up in a loose bun and wearing a lovely turquoise dress that revealed long creamy legs.

" Thank goodness you're here, Pep. We wouldn't last a day with this kid," Mr Tony babbled, as he walked towards the lady to sneak a kiss on her cheek. Steve promptly turned redder at such a blatant interaction.

To perhaps save him some embarrassment, Mr Bruce gently nudged him towards this entrancing lady. " This is Pepper Potts, Steve," he introduced.

He gave Miss Pepper a polite nod over his milk, ashamed he wasn't able to move his mouth to properly greet her.

Miss Pepper didn't seem to mind. " It's nice to meet you, Steve," she cordially said. And when she smiled, Steve was explicitly reminded of the beautiful red roses that a man would bring to a lady down the street by the handful.

" You're really pretty," he finally breathed out.

Pleasantly surprised, Miss Pepper's smile widened and Steve could feel the heat from his cheeks radiating out. " Why, thank you, Steve," she said. " That's kind of you to say."

"I-it's the truth," he mumbled.

Mr Tony cocked his eyebrow, amused. " Is Steve making a move on my girl?" he incredulously said, looking mockingly exasperated. " Back off, kid. She's mine."

Suddenly mortified, Steve hastily tried to explain. " I – I didn't mean – I'm sorry Mr Tony. I would never try to steal Miss Pepper from you."

Then Mr Tony let out a bark of laughter and even Miss Pepper and Mr Bruce smiled in amusement. " I'd like to see you try," he snorted. " Besides, she's too _young_ for you anyways."

Not understanding why Mr Tony said Miss Pepper was too young for him (he was sure she must be only a little younger than his mom), Steve was at least relieved that they had cleared up that misunderstanding.

A loud hiss somewhere across the room made Steve start and turn around, just as Miss Natasha strolled in out of nowhere, her scarlet hair a dazzling streak in contrast to the marble floor.

Steve was barely able to properly greet her when Mr Tony jumped right in. " Shame you didn't come in earlier," he said, grinning wickedly. " You missed Steve flirting with Pepper."

Miss Natasha raised an elegant eyebrow. " Did he now?" she said and Steve turned as red as her hair, desperately wishing the floor would just swallow him up.

" This will be great blackmail material for when he – "

" How are things at work?" Miss Pepper cheerfully interrupted.

" The usual," Miss Natasha casually replied.

And then there was a look that passed through the adults, starting with Miss Natasha, and it was long gone by the time it reached Steve. " Pepper, how about you bring Steve to see his room?" she easily suggested.

" If you've finished your milk, you could go see your room. We've prepared one just for you," Mr Bruce smiled.

Everyone was waiting on his answer, as if they were worried he might say or do something weird. Steve gave a slow nod and everyone beamed expectantly. " Come this way, Steve," Miss Pepper kindly extended a hand towards him, making him blush again as he accepted it while Mr Bruce took his half finished glass of milk.

He glanced back at the group as Miss Pepper led him out of the room. " Don't be trying anything on Pepper!" Mr Tony huffily called after him. Steve smiled bashfully and waved back at him before rounding a corner and Mr Tony and everyone else were gone from view.

" So what kind of things do you like to do Steve?" Miss Pepper asked, trying to break the silence as they climbed up a clatter of stairs.

" I like to draw," he mumbled. " And reading." He brightened at the thought of the books in his backpack. He hoped Mr Happy brought it into his room already. " Mr Bruce brought lots of books for me to read."

" Oh? What kind of books?"

" There was Clifford the Big Red Dog. Corduroy. The Cat in the Hat. And – and the Magic School Bus!" Steve babbled, just glowing with joy at saying the books' titles.

Miss Pepper smiled. " Which one is your favourite?"

" Magic School Bus!" he excitedly said, almost forgetting how shy he was towards the pretty Miss Pepper. " I really like Mrs Frizzle. And Liz – that's Mrs Frizzle's pet lizard. I wished I had a pet lizard like her," he wistfully said.

To which Miss Pepper told him how she wanted a pet hamster but her mother was allergic so she had to settle for a goldfish instead. Steve told her how he really wanted a dog or a cat but after he had brought back a puppy into his room and he ended up in a bout of coughing and wheezing that took him days to recover, his mother strictly forbade him from any strays or animals into their apartment.

Their conversation continued like this as they went up the stairs and down the hallways and gradually Steve felt more comfortable around Miss Pepper. " Here we are," she said as they finally reached a glass door that looked too similar with every other door on this floor. " Are you feeling, Steve? Tired at all?"

His mother told him a good gentleman would never lie to a lady, but Steve didn't want to admit to Miss Pepper how their short walk had tired him out and he hurriedly tried to hide the bead of sweat across his brow. Thankfully, Miss Pepper didn't see it as she pressed a few buttons that came from a strange calculator stuck to the wall. To Steve's surprise, the glass door magically shot upwards.

" How did it do that?" he exclaimed, trying to peer at the top of the doorway, frowning at what sorcery had caused the door to levitate.

" I'll tell you later," Miss Pepper replied smoothly. " But first of all, here's your room." She led him into the room (Steve was still suspiciously looking at the now empty doorway). " How do you like it?"

It was hard to say at the moment whether Steve liked it or not as soon as he got a good look around. The room was impossibly large. He estimated it to be the size of his apartment and everything was sleek and brand new. The bed could easily fit four people and its sheets were so glossy that he was almost afraid to touch it. A gleaming wooden desk was by the window and there was a small stack of paper and pencils. His fingers twitched, wanting to draw and sketch but he clamped down on his yearning and he found himself instead sitting on the edge of his very soft bed, still staring agape at his new room.

And like being in the lobby and the floor, an empty feeling began to gnaw its way through his chest and Steve never felt smaller and amiss in this room, in this tower, in a place that was not his own.

She must have sensed what he was feeling because Miss Pepper quickly sat next to him on the bed. " Steve?" she gently asked.

" Miss Pepper, I – I don't know what to say," he began.

" What do you mean?"

" Everything is so – so new here," Steve began, hesitantly looking up at her. " Half of the things here I never heard or seen until now. I feel like I'm almost in another world." He gazed tentatively at her. " You, Mr Bruce, Mr Tony ... you have all been so nice to me." There was a slight hitch in his voice now. " And I don't think I deserve any of this."

Miss Pepper had a rather sad expression on her face. As if someone dear to her had disappeared and could not be found. Then she opened her arms towards him. " Come here," she told him.

He obeyed and climbed into her arms and let her hold him, trying to find a place between feeling utterly lost and feeling right at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where in the last chapter, Steve was amazed by all the sights he was seeing, in this chapter he's beginning to realize just how foreign everything is to him now that he's coming to direct contact with those things and is developing some cultural shock. And to answer a previous review, I agree that a ventilator is not used for an asthma attack. But Steve here is not any average child and he has several diseases and conditions that could be exacerbated by the asthma and his panic attack and cause Steve to go downhill quickly. While I'm not an expert on medicine, I could only assume that since Steve was so sickly when he was young, his condition would be much worse than expected.

**Author's Note:**

> I just adore kid!fics and I couldn't resist writing one for Steve who at that age was very vulnerable to many diseases and conditions, such as asthma, pneumonia, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, palpitation of the heart, rheumatic fever and sinusitus.


End file.
